The Miami String Quartet is one of the most accredited and well-known quartets in chamber music today! The group was the first string quartet in over a decade to be awarded the First Prize of the Concert Artists Guild New York Competition in 1992. The Quartet’s accomplishments have spread worldwide as they were awarded Laureate of the 1993 Evian Competition, 1991 London String Quartet Competition, and the 1989 Grand Prize Winner of the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. More recently in 2000, the ensemble also won the Cleveland Quartet Award.
Founding members Cathy Meng Robinson and Keith Robinson have played together for over 20 years. In addition to the Quartet’s array of awards throughout the years, the ensemble has performed at several popular music festivals, including Santa Fe, La Jolla, Music from Angel Fire, Steamboat Springs, Kent/Blossom, Bravo! Vail Valley, and Off the Hook Arts’ festivals.
Benny Kim, the Miami String Quartet’s first violinist, attended The Juilliard School and studied with Dorothy DeLay. Already well-established as a solo artist prior to joining the quartet, Benny replaced the quartet’s first violinist Ivan Chan in 2010, who retired due to an injury. Benny Kim is currently an Associate Professor of Violin at the University of Missouri/Kansas City Observatory of Music. He plays an extraordinary 1732 Stradivarius Violin, which he acquired in 1987.
Cathy Meng Robinson was one of the founding members of the Quartet in 1988. She attended the Curtis Institute of Music and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree. Meng Robinson went on to graduate with a Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She is currently a faculty member at Kent State University.
Scott Lee joined the Quartet in 2011 following his success in the chamber music world as a phenomenal violist. Lee was born in Taiwan, where he learned to play the violin at only eight. When he turned thirteen, Lee began to play the viola as well. He moved to the United States and studied at Idyllwild Arts Academy in California. Lee continued his studies at both the Curtis Institute of Music and at The Juilliard School. Currently, he is a Professor of Viola at the University of Missouri/Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music and a faculty member at the McGill International String Quartet Academy in Montreal.
Keith Robinson is also a founding member of the Miami String Quartet. Born into a family of musicians, including Sharon Robinson of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, and Hal Robinson, principal bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Keith plays a beautiful 1725 Carlo Tononi cello, made in Venice. Robinson graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music prior to joining the Quartet.
Check out the following links to learn more about the Miami String Quartet!
https://www.miamistringquartet.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCizlIH_h95viX4LTyTCottg
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/miamistringquartet
Facebook: @miamistringquartet
Benny Kim:
Instagram: @golfiddler
Scott Lee:
Instagram: @scott1201lee